Many people we've met in Albania enjoy vacationing in a historical town called Ohrid (pronounced OH-crid), just over the border in Macedonia. Ohrid sits on a lake by the same name, which is said to be the oldest and deepest lake in the Balkans (about 940 feet at its deepest). Last week, we decided to take the 3-hour trip and spend a few days exploring this lovely city. Of course, it's tourist season in Ohrid (never knew there was high-season in Macedonia, did you?), so the town was quite overrun with people like us seeking a pleasant place to swim, sunbathe and explore. We found two very quaint apartments to rent on the same floor of a small building in the heart of old-town Ohrid. (I'm embarrassed to say it, but one of the best things about this place was the cable TV! We couldn't help soaking up a couple of National Geographic programs and a Scooby Doo episode in between site-seeing.)
Some of our favorite moments were exploring the old castle in the city, which dates back to the 10th century; visiting a few lovely Greek Orthodox churches featuring well-preserved tile mosaics of saints and Biblical characters; and, of course, swimming in Lake Ohrid, which is calm and sparkling in the morning but whips up some vicious waves every afternoon. Some of the not-so-lovely memories involved European tourists with large bellies and very tiny bathing suits. But some might say we were fortunate that they were wearing any bathing suits at all!
In any case, we highly enjoyed Ohrid, and felt proud that we could navigate an entirely new country with yet another language (Macedonian), currency (denar) and culture (good coffee, bad beer, so-so service), without too much trouble. I think we're ready for the next leg of our journey, Italy, where we'll arrive on Monday.
Some of our favorite moments were exploring the old castle in the city, which dates back to the 10th century; visiting a few lovely Greek Orthodox churches featuring well-preserved tile mosaics of saints and Biblical characters; and, of course, swimming in Lake Ohrid, which is calm and sparkling in the morning but whips up some vicious waves every afternoon. Some of the not-so-lovely memories involved European tourists with large bellies and very tiny bathing suits. But some might say we were fortunate that they were wearing any bathing suits at all! 
In any case, we highly enjoyed Ohrid, and felt proud that we could navigate an entirely new country with yet another language (Macedonian), currency (denar) and culture (good coffee, bad beer, so-so service), without too much trouble. I think we're ready for the next leg of our journey, Italy, where we'll arrive on Monday.
3 comments:
loved the pix of the castle w/ the kids! how fun! sounds like you're slowing down and taking everything in! :p
Wonderful icon shot - and "Christmas card" photo of kids! Your new career is surely as a photojournalist!
Wow!!!!
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